May 13, 2005

Around the Web

The National Review on the Bolton nomination. What planet is a person living on that they could write a sentence like this: "The White House has even received nearly unanimous praise for its renewed efforts to engage the international community."

Medicaid on the chopping block: "When it comes to the Medicaid health program for the poor, the question in Washington has moved from whether to cut the program to how."

The Pentagon has suggested the closure of 33 large military bases in the U.S., and a 2/3 reduction in National Guard and Reserve facilities. I guess it's more important to have bases in Uzbekistan, where their government boils people alive while our government looks the other way. This Kos post has the full list, and notes (as expected) that most of the jobs will be lost in blue states if the recommendations are carried out, though Washington State has gotten of mostly with the loss of Guard and Reserve centers. The states and districts of moderate and marginalized Republicans are also SOL, though the South will win big. Steve Soto has another perspective on the Republican losers.

Jacqueline Passey's libertarian self is horrified from follicles to phalanges over the Real ID act, which was tucked into a large appropriations bill set to cover the ongoing expenses of occupying Iraq. She shares some comments from Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).

The American Street: Why DeLay's scandals are God's fault. What's really important about the media: "But are blogs important? No. The information, the news, the facts, the analysis and commentary are. What is even more important is who we get them from, and whether they are objective sources of news, when it is news. And when it is commentary and analysis, is it well-researched, well-thought, or is it just a subjective rant?"

DailyKos: Science Friday shines a spotlight on Gulf War Syndrome, which still affects many of the veterans of the first Bush adventure in Iraq. Why the nuclear option will make Republican moderates irrelevant. Manuel Miranda is the thief who stole papers from one of the Senate Democrats' servers, but he's still a go-to guy for Republican hatchet work. Some of the many ways the administration has failed national security.